An experimentally feasible realization of testing quantum-vacuum geometric phases of photons by using a gyrotropic-medium optical fibre via Casimir's effect is proposed.
We introduce the concept of Casimir friction, i.e. friction due to quantum fluctuations. In this first article we describe the calculation of a constant torque, arising from the scattering of quantum fluctuations, on a dielectric rotating in an electromagnetic vacuum.
The three-body Casimir-Polder potential between one excited and two ground-state atoms is evaluated. A physical model based on the dressed field correlations of vacuum fluctuations is used, generalizing a model previously introduced for three ground-state atoms. Although the three-body potential with one excited atom is already known in the literature, our model gives new insights on the nature of non-additive Casimir-Polder forces with one or more excited atoms.
The electromagnetic vacuum is known to have energy. It has been recently argued that the quantum vacuum can possess momentum, that adds up to the momentum of matter. This ``Casimir momentum'' is closely related to the Casimir effect, in which case energy is exchanged. In previous theory it was treated semi-classically. We present a non-relativistic quantum theory for the linear momentum of electromagnetic zero-point fluctuations, considering an harmonic oscillator subject to crossed, quasi-static magnetic and electric and coupled to the quantum vacuum. We derive a contribution of the quantum v…
We consider the angular momentum of a charge q rotating in a homogeneous magnetic field and study the role of the electromagnetic quantum vacuum. Its orbital angular momentum is caused by the recoil of energetic vacuum photons that grows as n^2, i.e. faster than the kinetic angular momentum -2n\hbar of a Landau level.
Electromagnetic vacuum fluctuations have observable consequences, like the Casimir force between mirrors in vacuum. This force is now measured with good accuracy and agreement with theory when the effect of imperfect reflection of mirrors is properly taken into account. We discuss the simple case of bulk metallic mirrors described by a plasma model and show that simple scaling laws are obtained at the limits of long and short distances. The crossover between the short and long-distance laws is quite similar to the crossover between Van der Waals and Casimir-Polder forces for two atoms in vacuu…
We calculate the Casimir-Polder intermolecular potential using an effective Hamiltonian recently introduced. We show that the potential can be expressed in terms of the dynamical polarizabilities of the two atoms and the equal-time spatial correlation of the electric field in the vacuum state. This gives support to an interesting physical model recently proposed in the literature, where the potential is obtained from the classical interaction between the instantaneous atomic dipoles induced and correlated by the vacuum fluctuations. Also, the results obtained suggest a more general validity of…
We discuss the possibility of verifying the equivalence principle for the zero-point energy of quantum electrodynamics, by evaluating the force, produced by vacuum fluctuations, acting on a rigid Casimir cavity in a weak gravitational field. The resulting force has opposite direction with respect to the gravitational acceleration; the order of magnitude for a multi-layer cavity configuration is derived and experimental feasibility is discussed, taking into account current technological resources.
The Casimir energy is computed in the geometry of interest for the most precise experiments, a plane and a sphere in electromagnetic vacuum. The scattering formula is developed on adapted plane-waves and multipole basis, leading to an expression valid for arbitrary relative values of the sphere radius and inter-plate distance. In the limiting case of perfect reflection, the electromagnetic result is found to depart from the commonly used proximity-force approximation (PFA) significantly more rapidly than expected from scalar computations.
We calculate the Casimir force between two parallel ideal metal plates when there is an intervening chiral medium present. Making use of methods of quantum statistical mechanics we show how the force can be found in a simple and compact way. The expression for the force is in agreement with that obtained recently by Q.-D. Jiang and F. Wilczek [Phys. Rev. B {\bf 99}, 125403 (2019)], in their case with the use of Green function methods.
In the work, the thermal and vacuum fluctuation is predicted capable of generating a Casimir thrust force on a rotating chiral particle, which will push or pull the particle along the rotation axis. The Casimir thrust force comes from two origins: i) the rotation-induced symmetry-breaking in the vacuum and thermal fluctuation and ii) the chiral cross-coupling between electric and magnetic fields and dipoles, which can convert the vacuum spin angular momentum (SAM) to the vacuum force. Using the fluctuation dissipation theorem (FDT), we derive the analytical expressions for the vacuum thrust fo…
The Casimir effect results from the optomechanical coupling between field fluctuations and mirrors in quantum vacuum. This contribution to the 20th International Conference on Laser Spectroscopy (ICOLS 2011) discusses the current status in the comparison between theory and experiments.
We consider vacuum fluctuations of the quantum electromagnetic field in the presence of an infinite and perfectly conducting plate. We evaluate how the change of vacuum fluctuations due to the plate modifies the Casimir-Polder potential between two atoms placed near the plate. We use two different methods to evaluate the Casimir-Polder potential in the presence of the plate. They also give new insights on the role of boundary conditions in the Casimir-Polder interatomic potential, as well as indications for possible generalizations to more complicated boundary conditions.
The Casimir effect is a physical manifestation of zero point energy of quantum vacuum. In a relativistic quantum field theory, Poincaré symmetry of the theory seems, at first sight, to imply that non-zero vacuum energy is inconsistent with translational invariance of the vacuum. In the setting of two uniform boundary plates at rest, quantum fields outside the plates have (1+2)-dimensional Poincaré symmtry. Taking a massless scalar field as an example, we have examined the consistency between the Poincaré symmetry and the existence of the vacuum enegy. We note that, in quantum theory, symmetrie…
The Casimir force, originating from vacuum zero-point energy, is one of the most intriguing purely quantum effects. It has attracted renewed interests in current field of nanomechanics, due to the rapid size decrease of on-chip devices. Here we study the optomechanically-induced transparency (OMIT) with a tunable Casimir force. We find that the optical output rate can be significantly altered by the vacuum force, even terminated and then restored, indicating a highly-controlled optical switch. Our result addresses the possibility of designing exotic optical nano-devices by harnessing the power…
Vacuum fluctuations have observable consequences, like the Casimir force appearing between two mirrors in vacuum. This force is now measured with good accuracy and agreement with theory. We discuss the meaning and consequences of these statements by emphasizing their relation with the problem of vacuum energy, one of the main unsolved problems at the interface between gravitational and quantum theory.
In a recent paper (arXiv:2003.00760) and a related article (Z. Naturforsch. A 75, 803-807), S.-A. Biehs et al. present erroneous interpretations of our work on the heat transfer driven by Casimir force. Here, we clarify several key concepts and refute their claims.
The regularized total Casimir energy in spacetimes with boundaries is not in general equal to the integral of the regularized energy density. This paradoxical phenomenon is most transparently analyzed in the simple example of a massless scalar field in 1+1 dimensions confined to a line element of length $L$ and obeying Dirichlet boundary conditions.
The zero-temperature Casimir-Lifshitz force between two plates moving parallel to each other at arbitrary constant speed was found in [New J. Phys. 11, 033035 (2009)]. The solution is here generalized to the case where the plates are at different temperatures. The Casimir-Lifshitz force is obtained by calculating the electromagnetic stress tensor, using the method employed by Antezza et al. [Phys. Rev. A 77, 022901 (2008)] for non-moving plates at different temperatures. The perpendicular force on the plates has contributions from the quantum vacuum and from the thermal radiation; both of thes…
The dynamical Casimir effect (DCE) predicts the generation of photons from the vacuum due to the parametric amplification of the quantum fluctuation of an electromagnetic field\cite{casimir1,casimir2}. The verification of such effect is still elusive in optical systems due to the very demanding requirements of its experimental implementation. This typically requires very fast changes of the boundary conditions of the problem, such as the high-frequency driving of the positions of the mirrors of a cavity accommodating the field. Here, we show that an ensemble of two-level atoms collectively cou…
The recent discovery that silicon nitride membranes can be used as extremely high Q mechanical resonators makes possible a number of novel experiments, which include improved long range vacuum Casimir force measurements, and measurments of the properties of liquid helium below the lambda point. It is noted that in the thermal correction to the Casimir force, the phase velocity of the excitations does not enter, with the force per unit area between parallel plates depending only on the temperature and distance between the plates. Thus it appears as possible to measure the phonon analog of the f…
Here we reply to the comment of Li et al. (arXiv:2009.09377) on the preprint (arXiv:2003.00760) of our publication (Z. Naturforsch. A 75, 803-807; DOI:10.1515/zna-2020-0204).
The Casimir force is a spectacular consequence of the existence of vacuum fluctuations and thus deserves a place in courses on quantum theory. We argue that the scattering approach within a one-dimensional field theory is well suited to discuss the Casimir effect. It avoids in a transparent way divergences appearing in the evaluation of the vacuum energy. Furthermore, the scattering approach connects in a natural manner to the standard discussion of one-dimensional scattering problems in a quantum theory course. Finally, it allows to introduce students to the methods employed in the current re…
The Casimir force can be understood as resulting from the radiation pressure exerted by the vacuum fluctuations reflected by boundaries. We extend this local formulation to the case of partially transmitting boundaries by introducing reflectivity and transmittivity coefficients obeying conditions of unitarity, causality and high frequency transparency. We show that the divergences associated with the infiniteness of the vacuum energy do not appear in this approach. We give explicit expressions for the Casimir force which hold for any frequency dependent scattering and any temperature. The corr…
We have considered the interaction of a pair of spatially separated two-level atoms with the electromagnetic field in its vacuum state and we have analyzed the amount of entanglement induced between the two atoms by the non local field fluctuations. This has allowed us to characterize the quantum nature of the non local correlations of the electromagnetic field vacuum state as well as to link the induced quantum entanglement with Casimir-Polder potentials.
Disordered geometrical boundaries such as rough surfaces induce important modifications to the mode spectrum of the electromagnetic quantum vacuum. In analogy to Anderson localization of waves induced by a random potential, here we show that the Casimir-Polder interaction between a cold atomic sample and a rough surface also produces localization phenomena. These effects, that represent a macroscopic manifestation of disorder in quantum vacuum, should be observable with Bose-Einstein condensates expanding in proximity of rough surfaces.
Two different quantum processes are considered in a perturbed vacuum cavity: time refraction and dynamical Casimir effect. They are shown to be physically equivalent, and are predicted to be unstable, leading to an exponential growth in the number of photons created in the cavity. The concept of an effective Unruh acceleration for these processes is also introduced, in order to make a comparison in terms of radiation efficiency, with the Unruh radiation associated with an accelerated frame in unbounded vacuum.
A critical look is taken at the calculation of the Casimir effect. The boundary conditions play an important role and should be imposed in a physical way. An acceptable result for the vacuum energy is only obtained when different regularization schemes yield the same result. Radiative corrections to the Casimir force between two parallel plates due to electromagnetic vacuum fluctuations have been obtained both in full QED and in a low-energy, effective field theory with conflicting results. Including surface terms in the effective Lagrangian, the QED result can be understood. Finally, a proble…
We study the dynamical Casimir effect using a fully quantum-mechanical description of both the cavity field and the oscillating mirror. We do not linearize the dynamics, nor do we adopt any parametric or perturbative approximation. By numerically diagonalizing the full optomechanical Hamiltonian, we show that the resonant generation of photons from the vacuum is determined by a ladder of mirror-field {\em vacuum Rabi splittings}. We find that vacuum emission can originate from the free evolution of an initial pure mechanical excited state, in analogy with the spontaneous emission from excited …
The Casimir effect continues to be a subject of discussion regarding its relationship, or the lack of it, with the vacuum energy of fluctuating quantum fields. In this note, we propose a Gedankenexperiment considering an imaginary process similar to a vacuum fluctuation in a typical static Casimir set up. The thought experiment leads to intriguing conclusions regarding the minimum distance between the plates when approaching the Planck scale. More specifically, it is found that distance between the plates cannot reach a value below $(L/L_P)^{2/3}$ Planck lengths, being $L_P$ the Planck length …
Based on the idea that the vacuum fluctuations of electromagnetic fields can induce instantaneous correlated dipoles, we study the far-zone Casimir-Polder potential between two atoms in the Boulware, Unruh and Hartle-Hawking vacua outside a Schwarzschild black hole. We show that, at spatial infinity, the Casimir-Polder potential in the Boulware vacuum is similar to that in the Minkowski vacuum in flat spacetime with a behavior of $R^{-7}$, so is in the Unruh vacuum as a result of the backscattering of the Hawking radiation from the black hole off the spacetime curvature. However, the interatom…
Casimir pistons are models in which finite Casimir forces can be calculated without any suspect renormalizations. It has been suggested that such forces are always attractive, but we present several counterexamples, notably a simple type of quantum graph in which the sign of the force depends upon the number of edges. We also show that Casimir forces in quantum graphs can be reliably computed by summing over the classical orbits, and study the rate of convergence of the periodic orbit expansion. In generic situations where no analytic expression is available, the sign and approximate magnitude…
We develop a QED approach to find the contribution of the quantum vacuum to the electromagnetic Abraham force. Semi-classical theories predict diverging contributions from the quantum vacuum. We show that the divergencies disappear by Kramers-Bethe mass-renormalization. The finite remainder is compared to the relativistic corrections to the Abraham force. This work generalizes an earlier paper [1], dedicated to the harmonic oscillator, to the hydrogen atom and corrects two subtle errors.
The torque density per unit height exerted on a perfectly conducting wedge due to the quantum vacuum fluctuations (the Casimir torque) is obtained. A canonical quantum field theoretical approach with the method of calculating vacuum-to-vacuum propagator (Green function) [1] is used.
Following a recent report on experiments it has been claimed that a phonon heat transfer through a vacuum gap between two solids due to quantum fluctuations had been measured. Here we make a theoretical analyzis of this mechanism and demonstrate that the Casimir force driven heat flux is at least 15 orders of magnitude smaller than the near-field heat flux between two solids at any given separating distance. Moreover, we provide compelling arguments that the measures reported are no more and no less a measure of the virtual temperatures of vibrating modes which does not allow an access to the …
We give an example of a geometry in which two metallic objects in vacuum experience a repulsive Casimir force. The geometry consists of an elongated metal particle centered above a metal plate with a hole. We prove that this geometry has a repulsive regime using a symmetry argument and confirm it with numerical calculations for both perfect and realistic metals. The system does not support stable levitation, as the particle is unstable to displacements away from the symmetry axis.
We study the geometrical corrections to the simple Proximity Force Approximation for the non-retarded Casimir force. We present analytical results for the force between objects of various shapes and substrates, and between pairs of objects. We compare the results to those from more exact numerical calculations. We treat spheres, spheroids, cylinders, cubes, cones, and wings; the analytical PFA results together with the geometrical correction factors are summarized in a table.
We argue that the results for the vacuum forces on a slab and on an atom embedded in a magnetodielectric medium near a mirror, obtained using a recently suggested Lorentz-force approach to the Casimir effect, are equivalent to the corresponding results obtained in a traditional way. We also derive a general expression for the atom-atom force in a medium and extend a few classical results concerning this force in vacuum and dielectrics to magnetodielectric systems. This, for example, reveals that the (repulsive) interaction between atoms of different polarizability type is at small distances un…
The Casimir effect in an inhomogeneous dielectric is investigated using Lifshitz's theory of electromagnetic vacuum energy. A permittivity function that depends continuously on one Cartesian coordinate is chosen, bounded on each side by homogeneous dielectrics. The result for the Casimir stress is infinite everywhere inside the inhomogeneous region, a divergence that does not occur for piece-wise homogeneous dielectrics with planar boundaries. A Casimir force per unit volume can be extracted from the infinite stress but it diverges on the boundaries between the inhomogeneous medium and the hom…
We show two examples in which the dynamical Casimir effect can be achieved by modulating the Kerr or higher order nonlinearities. In the first case the cavity field is coupled to an arbitrary number of qubits or an harmonic oscillator via the dipole interaction. In the second case, the modulation of the nonlinearities is accompanied by the off-resonance modulation of the cavity frequency. We present the analytic description of the phenomenon and supplement it with numeric simulations, demonstrating that photons can be created from vacuum and the resulting hyper-Poissonian photon statistics is …
The resonant scalar particle generation for a swinging cavity resonator in the Casimir vacuum is examined. It is shown that the number of particles grows exponentially when the cavity rotates at some specific external frequency.
Negative values of the Casimir entropy occur quite frequently at low temperatures in arrangements of metallic objects. The physical reason lies either in the dissipative nature of the metals as is the case for the plane-plane geometry or in the geometric form of the objects involved. Examples for the latter are the sphere-plane and the sphere-sphere geometry, where negative Casimir entropies can occur already for perfect metal objects. After appropriately scaling out the size of the objects, negative Casimir entropies of geometric origin are particularly pronounced in the limit of large distan…
We study theoretically the non-stationary circuit QED system in which the artificial atom transition frequency has a small periodic modulation in time, prescribed externally. We show that, in the dispersive regime, when the modulation periodicity meets the `resonances', the dynamics may be described by the dynamical Casimir effect, Jaynes-Cummings or Anti-Jaynes-Cummings effective Hamiltonians. In the resonant atom-cavity regime, under the modulation `resonance' the dynamics resembles the behavior of the dynamical Casimir effect in a vibrating cavity containing a resonant two-level atom, and e…
We calculated the force of the quantum vacuum, the Casimir force, in a spherically symmetric medium, Maxwell's fish eye, surrounded by a perfect mirror and derived an exact analytic solution. Our solution questions the idea that the Casimir force of a spherical mirror is repulsive - we found an attractive force that diverges at the mirror.
We consider the nonstationary circuit QED setup in which a 3-level artificial atom in the $Δ$-configuration interacts with a single-mode cavity field of natural frequency $ω$. It is demonstrated that when some atomic energy level(s) undergoes a weak harmonic modulation, photons can be generated from vacuum via effective 1- and 3-photon transitions, while the atom remains approximately in the ground state. These phenomena occur in the dispersive regime when the modulation frequency is accurately tuned near $ω$ and $3ω$, respectively, and the generated field states exhibit strikingly different s…
We develop a general numerical method aimed at studying particle production from vacuum states in a variety of settings. As a first example we look at particle production in a simple cosmological model. We apply the same approach to the dynamical Casimir effect, with special focus on the case of an oscillating mirror. We confirm previous estimates and obtain long-time production rates and particle spectra for both resonant and off-resonant frequencies. Finally, we simulate a system with space and time-dependent optical properties, analogous to a one-dimensional expanding dielectric bubble. We …
We want to introduce an atomic pendulum whose driving force (torque) is due to the quantum vacuum fluctuations. Applying the well-known Casimir-Polder effect to a special configuration (a combined structure of an atomic nanostring and a conducting plate), an atomic pendulum (Casimir atomic pendulum) is designed. Using practically acceptable data corresponding to the already known world of nanotechnology and based on reasonable/reliable numerical estimates, the period of oscillation for the pendulum is computed. This pendulum can be considered as both a new Micro (Nano)-Eelectromechanical syste…
The linear momentum and angular momentum of virtual photons of quantum vacuum fluctuations can induce the Casimir force and the Casimir torque, respectively. While the Casimir force has been measured extensively, the Casimir torque has not been observed experimentally though it was predicted over forty years ago. Here we propose to detect the Casimir torque with an optically levitated nanorod near a birefringent plate in vacuum. The axis of the nanorod tends to align with the polarization direction of the linearly polarized optical tweezer. When its axis is not parallel or perpendicular to the…
In discussions of the cosmological constant, the Casimir effect is often invoked as decisive evidence that the zero point energies of quantum fields are "real''. On the contrary, Casimir effects can be formulated and Casimir forces can be computed without reference to zero point energies. They are relativistic, quantum forces between charges and currents. The Casimir force (per unit area) between parallel plates vanishes as α, the fine structure constant, goes to zero, and the standard result, which appears to be independent of α, corresponds to the α\to\infty limit.
The review of vacuum and matter restructuring in space-time with boundaries is presented. We consider phase properties of confining gauge theories and strongly interacting fermion systems. In particular, the chiral and deconfinement phase transitions properties in the presence of Casimir plates. We also discuss mass scale shifts in such systems and their possible dynamical and geometrical nature.
Modern quantum field theory has offered us a very intriguing picture of empty space. The vacuum state is no longer an inert, motionless state. We are instead dealing with an entity teeming with fluctuations that continuously produce virtual particles popping in and out of existence. The dynamical Casimir effect is a paradigmatic phenomenon, whereby these particles are converted into real particles (photons) by changing the boundary conditions of the field. It was predicted 50 years ago by Gerald T. Moore and it took more than 40 years until the first experimental verification.
Like Casimir's original force between conducting plates in vacuum, Casimir forces are usually attractive. But repulsive Casimir forces can be achieved in special circumstances. These might prove useful in nanotechnology. We give examples of when repulsive quantum vacuum forces can arise with conducting materials.
We study the vacuum (i.e., zero-temperature) Casimir energy for a system of neutral conductors which are isolated, as opposed to grounded. The former is meant to describe a situation where the total charge on each conductor, as well as all of its fluctuations, vanishes, while the latter describes a situation where the conductors are connected to a charge reservoir. We compute the difference between the vacuum energies for a given system of conductors, but subjected to the two different conditions stated above. The results can be written in terms of a generalized, frequency-dependent capacitanc…
We present a simple general proof that Casimir force cannot originate from the vacuum energy of electromagnetic (EM) field. The full QED Hamiltonian consists of 3 terms: the pure electromagnetic term $H_{\rm em}$, the pure matter term $H_{\rm matt}$ and the interaction term $H_{\rm int}$. The $H_{\rm em}$-term commutes with all matter fields because it does not have any explicit dependence on matter fields. As a consequence, $H_{\rm em}$ cannot generate any forces on matter. Since it is precisely this term that generates the vacuum energy of EM field, it follows that the vacuum energy does not…
The energy momentum tensor is used to introduce the Casimir force of the massive scalar field acting on a nonpenetrating surface. This expression can be used to evaluate the vacuum force by employing the appropriate field operators. To simplify our formalism we also relates the vacuum force expression to the imaginary part of the Green function via the fluctuation dissipation theorem and Kubo formula. This allows one to evaluate the vacuum force without resorting to the process of field quantization. These two approaches are used to calculate the attractive force between two nonpenetrating pla…
Zero-point energy is generally known to be unphysical. Casimir effect, however, is often presented as a counterexample, giving rise to a conceptual confusion. To resolve the confusion we study foundational aspects of Casimir effect at a qualitative level, but also at a quantitative level within a simple toy model with only 3 degrees of freedom. In particular, we point out that Casimir vacuum is not a state without photons, and not a ground state for a Hamiltonian that can describe Casimir force. Instead, Casimir vacuum can be related to the photon vacuum by a non-trivial Bogoliubov transformat…
The lateral Casimir force between two corrugated metallic plates makes possible a study of the nontrivial interplay of geometry and Casimir effect appearing beyond the regime of validity of the Proximity Force Approximation (PFA). Quantitative evaluations can be obtained by using scattering theory in a perturbative expansion valid when the corrugation amplitudes are smaller than the three other length scales: the mean separation distance $L$ of the plates, the corrugation period $λ_\C$ and the plasma wavelength $λ_¶$. Within this perturbative expansion, evaluations are obtained for arbitrary r…